Tennis legend John McEnroe has criticized the treatment of Novak Djokovic, arguing that the Serbian star deserves the same admiration as his contemporaries, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
In an interview with iNews, McEnroe highlighted the “unfair” villainization of Djokovic despite his remarkable achievements in tennis.
McEnroe acknowledged the well-earned love and respect that Nadal and Federer enjoy, noting their “legendary reputations.” However, he emphasized that Djokovic has not only matched but surpassed their accomplishments, making it unjust for him to be labeled the “bad guy” in the tennis world.
“[Rafael Nadal] and [Roger Federer] have legendary reputations, deservedly so. They’ve been incredible. [Novak Djokovic] has not only equalled them but surpassed them in overall achievements, which seemed impossible,” McEnroe stated.
He added that the narrative of needing a “good guy” and a “bad guy” in sports might be driving this bias, but insisted that Djokovic has been a significant positive force for tennis both on and off the court.
“I guess you need a good guy and a bad guy in a way. It can help the sport when you have rivalries like that. I think it’s been unfair, honestly, because he is great for the game, on and off the court,” McEnroe said.
McEnroe also expressed his enthusiasm about the prospect of former tennis stars like Djokovic, Nadal, Federer, and Andy Murray transitioning to commentary roles post-retirement. As someone who has successfully made that switch himself, McEnroe believes their presence would add great value to tennis broadcasts.
He particularly highlighted Murray’s dry sense of humor as a potential asset.
“I’d welcome it. I wouldn’t mind working with them if they were doing it. I’d love to, it’d be fun. Andy’s got that dry sense of humour. I don’t know him that well, but everything I hear off the court, he likes to be light-hearted and have fun. But I don’t anticipate Roger doing tennis commentary. He’s got a lot of other things going on,” McEnroe remarked.
Currently, both Djokovic and Murray are recovering from injuries and have not yet confirmed their participation in the upcoming Wimbledon Championships.
Nadal has already decided to skip Wimbledon to focus on preparing for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
